8. Wayne Gretzky

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Frequently hailed as the greatest hockey player of all time — to the point that he's often merely referred to as "The Great One" — Gretzky managed, by his second NHL season, to win two league MVPs and break two major records (points and assists in a season). That was in 1980-1981, and Gretzky would go on to dominate the sport for the rest of the decade — one of the records he wound up with was the record for breaking the most records. His jersey (No. 99) has been retired by every NHL team; the only other sports figure to be similarly honored was Jackie Robinson.